Pineda leaves Yankees scratching their heads

11:52 PM,
Apr. 24, 2014

Home plate umpire Gerry Davis (right) confers with Yankees pitcher Michael Pineda (left) and shortstop Derek Jeter (2) in the second inning of Wednesday's game against the Red Sox. Pineda was ejected after umpires found a foreign substance on his neck.

Written by

Chad Jennings
| @LohudYankees

The Yankees are down another pitcher, and it's not because of some unavoidable injury or fluke circumstance. It's because Michael Pineda smeared pine tar on his neck and thought either no one would notice or no one would care.

"I make a mistake again and put in too much and everybody (could) see it," Pineda said. "It's my mistake, you know? I feel so sad and I feel bad for that."

Major League Baseball suspended Pineda for 10 games on Thursday and Pineda accepted without appeal. With an off-day coming up, the Yankees will have to fill his spot in the rotation only once. ...